1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a road vehicle tire manufacturing method.
2. Background Information
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/966,977, filed Oct. 27, 1992now U.S. Pat. 5,304,270, entitled Tire Manufacturing Process, to which full reference is made herein in the interest of full disclosure, relates to a road vehicle tire manufacturing process whereby a green tire is assembled inside an annular forming mold having a toroidal inner chamber negatively reproducing the surface of the finished tire.
According to the above patent application, the forming mold is fitted and gripped between two opposite portions of a curing unit having a curing bladder, which is inserted inside the tire and mold, and defines part of a heat exchange gas circuit. At the end of the curing stage, the curing unit is opened, the bladder removed from the tire, and the tire unloaded off the curing unit together with the forming mold inside in which the tire is housed pending completion of the postinflation stage.
The above known process presents several drawbacks normally due to the long curing and postinflation times involved, and the difficulty encountered during curing, in controlling the temperature of the various parts of the tire for preventing local burning and/or overcuring and/or undercuring.
An important point to note in connection with the above is that the mass of the tire is mainly centered about the bead and tread portions, which thus require a relatively long curing time, whereas the sidewalls tend, not only to cure faster, but also to overcure or burn as a result of the heat yielded by the metal beads after curing.